UPDATE 2-European stocks gain, propped up by media firms

* Axel Springer soars on potential KKR deal
* Media stocks top gainers on STOXX 600
* Utilities, auto stocks fall
* Markets shut in Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, among others

(Updates to close, recasts throughout, adds graphic, quote)
By Aaron Saldanha
May 30 (Reuters) - European stocks rose on Thursday, boosted
by media firms enjoying their best day in nearly five months on
an earnings result and a potential deal - but the main regional
index was on track to post its first monthly decline of 2019.
That STOXX 600 .STOXX gained 0.4% on the day, with media
firms' shares .SXMP rising 1.8%. Trading volumes were under
80% their 90-day average due to market holidays in countries
including Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden.
Germany's DAX .GDAXI rose 0.5%, while Axel Springer
SPRGn.DE jumped 22.2% on its best day since listing. The
publisher's main owners are in talks with private equity firm
KKR KKR.N to possibly take the company private. "The European market has continued to lag behind its U.S.
peers, this combined with low financing costs and idiosyncratic
stock moves sets a ripe backdrop for capital market
transactions," said Edward Park, deputy chief investment officer
at Brooks Macdonald.
"The announcement that KKR are trying to take Axel Springer
private is a prime example of this," said Park, pointing to Axel
Springer having shed about a quarter of its market
capitalization in the last year on rising concerns about its
earnings and the ability of media companies to compete with
Alphabet Inc's GOOG.O Google in the online advertising space.
Britain's Daily Mail and General Trust DMGOa.L was another
gainer among media firms, rising 9.6% as first-half adjusted
pre-tax profit rose more than expected. It also reaffirmed its
full-year forecasts.
Tariff-sensitive stocks of auto-makers and their suppliers
.SXAP fell 0.3%. A senior Chinese diplomat ramped up the
rhetoric against the United States, saying provoking trade
disputes is "naked economic terrorism". European and U.S. firms' earnings growth will continue to be
anemic for much of this year, estimates accessed from Refinitiv
show, with an end to the bruising U.S.-China trade war not in
sight. The STOXX 600 is down about 4.9% in the month to date,
and now set for its first monthly decline of 2019.
Utilities stocks .SX6P slid 0.9% on Thursday, with
London-listed National Grid NG.L falling 4.6%. Credit Suisse
cut its price target on the stock, which was trading
ex-dividend. Spanish stocks .IBEX rose 0.9%, with Cellnex Telecom
CLNX.MC leading the index with a 4.8% gain after Goldman Sachs
boosted its rating on the stock and added it to its conviction
list.
The chief executive of Europe's biggest phone towers group
said it expects more deals to take shape in 2019-2020 after its
$3-billion splurge on assets owned by French tycoon Xavier Niel.
Passports and banknotes maker De La Rue Plc DLAR.L slumped
34% on a profit warning and announcing its chief executive will
leave the firm. "De La Rue is starting to feel like an analogue stock in a
digital age...After all, the company prints bank notes in an
increasingly cashless world," said AJ Bell investment director
Russ Mould.

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Europe vs U.S. earnings growth in local currency https://tmsnrt.rs/2Kd3uhh
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